


pretty hot for a pogue

by someoneyouloved



Series: jiara july 2020 [1]
Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Jiara July, Pre-Canon, basically a backstory on rafe’s line to jj at midsummers, because we all KNOW there’s some history there, but roofies are mentioned, mentions of implied/attempted sexual assault, nothing too bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:46:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25523077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someoneyouloved/pseuds/someoneyouloved
Summary: The words slip past Rafe’s lips without him having to think, a taunt that he knows will hit JJ where it hurts— right in the heart.“Tell Kiara she looks pretty hot for a Pogue.”Because they have a history, him and JJ, and those words call back to a comment he’d made at the Boneyard a year ago,  immediately followed by JJ punching him in the face.So, Rafe knows what’s going to happen next before it does: JJ goes still, and then he snaps.—or jj and rafe have a history, and kiara carrera just happens to be at the center of it.
Relationships: JJ & Kiara (Outer Banks), JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Series: jiara july 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849102
Comments: 19
Kudos: 158
Collections: Jiara July Jubilee





	pretty hot for a pogue

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my first fic for jiara july!! i honestly can’t believe this event is finally here, and i can’t wait to share everything i’ve been working on with you all! 
> 
> this is basically just a fic about my interpretation about what happened during kiara’s kook year between her and rafe, and why he knew to say that line to jj at midsummers. because, well, we ALL know there’s more to that than the writers are telling us. it’s a little canon-divergent, but i hope you enjoy :) 
> 
> trigger warnings: roofies, implied/attempted sexual assault, panic attacks, brief mentions of abuse. pls don’t read if any of these would jeopardize your mental health!

Normally, Rafe actively tries to avoid paying attention to the Pogues. Because they’re not worth his time, and it just gets depressing after a while, if he’s being honest.

But a few of them, like JJ Maybank, have gotten under his skin.

And his dad always says that you should know your enemy better than you know yourself and despite what he thinks, Rafe listens to him, so he pays attention— knows how JJ moves in a fight, how his fists clench and his entire body tenses whenever someone mentions his father. 

He also knows that above all, JJ is loyal to John B, like a dog is to it’s owner, so when he spots him at Midsummers with a split lip and a suit that doesn’t fit quite right, it’s easy to guess that John B isn’t too far away. 

Then Rafe has JJ cornered, just like he’s always wanted, trapped in a headlock and with no friends to help him, but before he can give him the beating he deserves, a security guard walks in and interrupts their fun. 

But it doesn’t matter, because Rafe already knows exactly what he needs to say to make JJ throw himself back into the fray.

The words slip past Rafe’s lips without him having to think, a taunt that he knows will hit JJ where it hurts— right in the heart. 

“Tell Kiara she looks pretty hot for a Pogue.”

Because they have a history, him and JJ, and those words call back to a comment he’d made at the Boneyard a year ago, immediately followed by JJ punching him in the face. 

So, Rafe knows what’s going to happen next before it does: JJ goes still, and then he snaps. 

•••

The first time JJ sees Kiara with Rafe, he’s working a shift for Heyward on Figure Eight.

It’s during that strange period of time where Kiara’s drifting away from the Pogues but is still technically their friend— her name pops up in group chat sometimes, and she goes surfing and parties at the Boneyard with them, but it’s not the same.

It’s different, the kind of different that means someone is about to leave, like how JJ’s mom had snuck into his room when she’d thought he was asleep and hugged him before she left and never came back. 

Kiara doesn’t do that, in fact she barely acknowledges the new divide between her and the Pogues, but he gets the message loud and clear. 

So JJ starts to pull away, distances himself from Kiara in the way he never had the foresight to do with his mother. 

It’s hard, and he gets this strange ache in his chest whenever he sees her, an arm around Sarah’s shoulders at the Boneyard or laughing with Kelce in an Instagram story, has to remind himself that Kiara can be friends with whoever she damn well pleases. 

And that’s true for the most part, except when that _someone_ is Rafe Cameron.

Because Rafe’s the ringleader of the Kooks, he’s a rich, disgusting slime ball (Kiara’s words, not his), and JJ has no idea why she would even _associate_ with him.

But there she is: laughing with Rafe’s arm thrown over her shoulders, rolling her eyes and shoving at his chest when he leans in to whisper something in her ear.

Kiara looks good, she always does these days, wearing a crop top and the shortest shorts JJ has ever seen on her, having swapped her usual mud-stained converse for wedged sandals. But the worst part is that he’s seen Kiara fake a smile before, and that isn’t it. 

No, this one’s real.

And fine, it hurts a little, because it’s easier to pretend that it’s not personal when Kiara’s at some fancy party at the Island Club or having a girls night with Sarah, but this isn’t a Kook thing— it’s a Kiara and Rafe thing.

JJ’s not sure why it makes him so mad, why he curls his hands into fists and storms away, kicks a dumpster when he’s out of their line of sight. 

It’s not until later, when he’s three beers in and icing his foot in the hammock at the Chateau, that the word _jealous_ comes to mind. 

But he ignores it, because it feels hot and bitter and dangerous, and JJ has enough to worry about as is. He doesn’t need to fight Kiara’s battle for her, and if she wants to ditch him and the Pogues, then she’ll have to figure out for herself that Rafe is a disgusting piece of shit.

If she doesn’t want JJ in her life, he’ll stay the hell out of it.

•••

JJ thought pulling away from Kiara first would make it hurt less when she inevitably abandoned them. 

He was wrong.

It’s mostly subconscious, but his sighting of her and Rafe speeds up the process a little, and he starts calling Kiara out on her bullshit more. John B and Pope are pissed too, but they’re too chicken to actually say anything to her, so it kind of all falls on JJ.

It culminates into a screaming match at the Chateau between him and Kiara, and of course JJ’s mouth gets away from him, so it ends with her slapping him in the face, tears streaming down her cheeks as she gets in her car and drives away.

John B and Pope try to reason with him, tell JJ to go after her and apologize, but he just grabs a beer and collapses into the hammock, his cheek still stinging from where Kiara had hit him.

He’s angry for a while after that, enough that John B and Pope learn not to bring up Kiara’s name unless they want JJ to punch something and potentially break his hand. 

JJ’s not quite sure what he had planned to do when he saw Kiara next, kind of builds it up in his mind as this big confrontation, so it’s honestly anticlimactic when he runs into her at the gas station one afternoon. 

Kiara’s basket is filled with a few miscellaneous items— those organic granola bars she likes, a few bags of chips, economically-friendly sunscreen, and a pack of cloth headbands. JJ doesn’t have a basket, but there’s a stolen candy bar in his pocket.

He tries not to think about how when he swiped it from the shelves, Kiara wasn’t there to take it from him. She used to have an annoying habit of paying for anything JJ tried to steal, which took all the fun out of it.

Her hair’s down, and she’s not wearing makeup like the last time JJ saw her, with mascara staining her cheeks as he’d screamed at her, but she’s wearing a high-waisted jean skirt and a cropped tank top. And don’t get him wrong, she looks good, but it’s... not Kiara. 

Or maybe it’s just not the Kiara _he’d_ known. She seems like an entirely different person these days. 

But the strangest part is now that she’s standing in front of him, staring at JJ like she’s worried he’s about to start screaming at her in the middle of the store, he’s not even angry anymore.

“Uh... hey,” JJ says when it’s clear she’s not going to speak first, which he realizes is an epically lame greeting, but what else is he supposed to say?

_Hey, I’ve been so pissed at you that I didn’t even realize how much I missed you, and now that you’re standing in front of me I kind of just want to beg you to come back?_

No. JJ can’t say that, not if he wants to keep his dignity.

“Hey,” Kiara repeats, though she still seems hesitant, as if she thinks JJ is luring her into a trap. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” he admits, shrugging his shoulders. The truth is that John B’s at work and he doesn’t want to go back to the Chateau alone since there’s still a giant Big-John-sized-hole there, and he can’t go home either, so he’s here. But he’s not about to tell Kiara that. “You?”

“The usual,” she says, mirroring his shrug. JJ almost reminds her that he doesn’t know what _the usual_ for her is anymore, but he bites his tongue. “Sarah’s having a party tonight, I was just... grabbing supplies.”

JJ just nods, because the mention of the Cameron’s seems to automatically reinstate the divide between them. He wasn’t invited to Sarah’s party, wouldn’t have gone if he had been, and he ignores the part of him that wants Kiara to offer to take him and the Pogues with her like she used to. But she doesn’t, and just like that, he remembers that they’re not friends anymore.

Kiara must notice the closed-off expression on his face, because she bites her lip like she always does when she’s upset and slips past him without a word, heading for the register. 

JJ’s planning to let her go, but then he remembers how Rafe had seemed so comfortable with her the other day, and he grabs Kiara’s arm as she passes.

She whirls around, glances at JJ and then at the hand on her wrist, and he lets go immediately, shakes his hand a little to get rid of the strange, lingering sensation where Kiara’s skin had touched his. 

“Sorry,” he says, trying to recall what the point of him stopping her was. “I know it’s none of my business but... you’re not going with Rafe tonight, are you?”

“What?”

JJ hesitates, because he knows how Kiara gets about people trying to protect her, but he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t say _something_. “It’s just... I saw you two the other day, and it looked like there was maybe something going on there. And I know you can take care of yourself, but I want to make sure you’re not making a mistake—”

“Okay, I’m sorry, you’re _following_ me now? What? Can’t trust a Kook?” Kiara snaps, hands on her hips and fire in her eyes, and JJ starts backtracking immediately. 

“No, that’s not— I was working a shift for Heyward, okay? And you and Rafe were there, and I know how much of an asshole he can be, so—”

“It’s like you said, I can take care of myself,” she hisses, cutting him off again. “And you’re right, it’s none of your business, JJ. So stay out of it.”

“I’m just trying to help,” he tells her, fighting to keep his voice level. JJ doesn’t know why he’s even bothering to care— it’s clear that Kiara doesn’t. “You can play Kook all you want, Kiara. But you don’t have to do it with him.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kiara practically growls, her gaze burning a hole in JJ’s chest. “Rafe’s not all bad, you know? And he’s much nicer when he’s sober.”

“Wow,” JJ scoffs, because since when was _that_ the kind of bar Kiara was setting for her friends? “Sounds like the man of your dreams. I hope you two are happy together, Carrera.”

“It’s not—” Kiara starts to say, but then she stops, bites her lips and shakes her head. “Nevermind. The point is that I’m handling it, okay? You don’t have to worry.”

“Right. Sure.”

After, when she’s gone, JJ regrets not calling after her. Because he genuinely didn’t want to start a fight, and he’d meant what he said. Rafe was bad news, and while JJ knew Kiara could handle herself, the idea of him doing anything to her made his stomach turn.

Still, he hopes that he’s wrong— that Rafe will leave Kiara be, and that there’s nothing going on between them. He hopes that she’s telling the truth when she says she has it all under control.

Because JJ’s not sure what he’d do if she doesn’t. 

•••

JJ’s sprawled across the pullout couch at the Chateau, John B already passed out in his bedroom and Pope asleep on the couch outside, a freshly lit joint in hand, when his phone rings.

Kiara’s name pops up on the screen, and he considers not answering, but there’s this strange pit in his stomach that won’t go away, so he picks up.

Later, he refuses to think about what might have happened if he hadn’t.

Because Kiara’s not the one who answers the phone.

“Hello?“

It’s a girl’s voice, one he doesn’t know, and JJ is already leaning forward, forcing himself to focus. He tries not to jump to conclusions— it’s a party, Kiara’s probably drunk, she might have lost her phone. It’s possible that nothing’s wrong. 

JJ doesn’t realize he hasn’t answered yet until the girl starts repeating herself. “Hello? Is someone there?”

“Oh, yeah,” he stammers, stamping the joint out on the coffee table. “Who is this? Where’s Kiara?”

“I’m Callie,” she says, her tone firm. “Who are you?”

“JJ,” he tells her, his voice short and to the point, because she’s not telling him where Kie is and he’s starting to get worried. “Where’s Kiara? Why do you have her phone?”

“You’re her friend?” she asks, still sounding suspicious, like she doesn’t quite trust him. 

“Yes, I’m her friend,” JJ snaps, even though that hasn’t been true as of late. It doesn’t matter— he just needs to know that Kiara’s okay, and then he can hang up the phone. “Is she okay? Why isn’t she answering her phone?”

“Something happened,” the girl says, her voice wavering slightly, and JJ’s heart jumps to his throat. A dozen different scenarios are running through his head, none of them good. “She’s okay, but she needs a ride. Can you come get her?”

“Yes,” he says without hesitation, springing to his feet and stumbling towards the door, grabbing the keys to his bike off the counter as he goes. “I’m leaving now. Be there in ten.”

“We’re at the Cameron’s place. It’s—”

“I know where it is,” JJ tells her, winding the keys around his fingers to distract himself from the panic coursing through his veins as he runs to his bike and shoves the keys into the ignition. “Is she there? Can I talk to her?”

The girl seems to hesitate, but then there’s a crackle of static as she hands the phone to Kiara.

Her voice filters into the air as JJ hits the gas, softer than he’s ever heard it. “JJ?”

He has the phone off speaker and pressed to his ear in a heartbeat. “Kie? Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, I can’t—” Kiara breaks off, her voice cracking, and JJ’s grip on the phone is so tight that he’s surprised the screen doesn’t shatter. “Everything’s fuzzy, and I can’t move. JJ, I can’t move, I can’t—”

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, fighting to keep his voice steady. “You’re okay. Just hold on, okay? I’m right here.”

“JJ, I’m scared,” she whimpers, still struggling to breathe, and JJ’s heart breaks a little at the confession. Because Kiara doesn’t _get_ scared, she’s the bravest person he knows, and if she’s admitting it to him of all people, then it’s bad. “Can you come?”

“I’m on my way.”

•••

On his way to the Cameron’s house, JJ drives the fastest he’s ever driven in his life. 

He doesn’t even bother checking the speed limit as he roars through the empty streets. It’s well past midnight, so the lights are out on the Cut, but he eventually turns into a neighborhood with trimmed hedges and streetlights that don’t flicker, and he knows he’s in the right place.

His hands are white on the handlebars as he screeches to a halt in the driveway, sliding between two shiny, spotless sports cars and yanking the keys from the ignition.

JJ’s phone is already in his hands as he fires a text off to Kiara’s phone, praying that the girl is still with her. 

**JJ:** Where are you?

 **Kiara:** By the bushes at the front of the house.

JJ is moving immediately, shoving his phone in his pocket as he heads towards the hedges. He finally spots them— a girl with long brown hair wearing a leather jacket, leaning over Kiara, who’s lying back against a tree with her eyes closed.

His throat goes tight at the sight, and there’s a moment where he wants to run away and pretend that this isn’t happening, but then Kiara groans, shifting away from the girls hands, and JJ forces himself to calm down. He can deal with his own emotions later, once he knows that Kie’s okay.

“What happened?” JJ demands as he approaches, the girl (Callie, he remembers) jumping up and turning to face him. “What’s wrong with her?”

Even as she opens her mouth to explain, JJ doesn’t take his attention away from Kie. She’s wearing jeans shorts and a tank top, her skin pale and gleaming with sweat. If he didn’t know better, she might just be some girl who’d partied too hard and passed out drunk. 

But he _does_ know better, because Kiara can’t seem to keep her eyes open and she’s whimpering under her breath, and it starts to remind JJ of himself when his dad is beating on him, and then he _really_ wants to run away but he knows that he can’t. 

“I think someone drugged her drink,” Callie says, as if this is normal. He guesses that maybe it is, if you’re a girl, and that only pisses JJ off more. “I found her before anything happened, but she’s still pretty out of it.”

“Who?” JJ asks, struggling to keep his voice level. Because he thinks he knows, and if Kie didn’t look like she was about to pass out at any moment, he’d already be inside that house beating the shit out of the bastard who’d done this to her. 

Callie must notice the dark, haunted look in his eyes, and her expression is grim as she says, “I think you know.”

JJ nods, grinds his teeth and curls his hands into fists to try and curb the rage that’s lighting every single bone in his body on fire. 

_Rafe_.

The next time he saw that rich, sadistic fucker... well the island’s golden boy would be walking out of that fight with a few less teeth and lot more broken bones. 

“ _Hey_ ,” Callie says, her voice sharp and her eyes on JJ’s clenched fists. “You good to take her home?”

His attention shifts back to Kiara, and all of the righteous anger vanishes from JJ’s body at sight of her lying on the ground, eyes half-closed and entirely unable to defend herself. And he knows that _no one_ deserves this, but Kie is the kind of person who’s meant to be laughing after riding the perfect wave or screaming for justice at some climate change rally. This... this was just _wrong_. 

JJ takes a step closer, crouches down on the ground beside her, hyper-aware of the fact that Callie is watching his every move and will knee him in the balls if he tries anything. 

“Kie?” He whispers, his voice so quiet he wonders if she can even hear it, careful to keep his distance so that he doesn’t spook her. “Kie, can you hear me?”

Kiara stirs a little, eyes fluttering open to look at him, her gaze still hazy from the drugs and the alcohol. “JJ?”

She says his name like she’s not quite sure if he’s real or not, and her voice is so quiet and weak and un-Kie like that he can’t help but reach out and touch her hand, just to make sure she’s still there.

JJ doesn’t realize he still hasn’t said anything until Kiara lifts her head, slowly, as if it’s an effort to even move, and squints at him. “JJ, is that you?” 

“Yeah, it’s me,” he murmurs, taking Kie’s hand in his, running his thumb over her skin as she flinches and tries to pull away. He thinks about letting go, but then her grip tightens ever so slightly and he decides to stay right where he is. “I’m here.”

“I’m scared,” she whispers, an echo of her words on the phone, and his heart breaks just a little bit more. “Can we go home?”

Home. JJ thinks he knows what Kiara means, can see the real question in her eyes without her having to say it.

“Yeah, Kie, we can go home,” he says, trying not to sound too shaken, because the last thing Kiara needs is someone freaking out on her right now. 

She seems to relax at that, leans back against the tree and closes her eyes. JJ eases an arm around her waist and lifts her into his arms, and Kiara automatically buries her head in the crook of his neck, her soft puffs of breath hot against his skin.

Callie follows them to his bike, still studying JJ as if she’s waiting for him to do something untrustworthy. He lets Kiara down, supporting the majority of her weight as she leans into him, her hands curled in the fabric of his t-shirt. If this was any other situation, JJ would probably be over the moon, but Kiara clinging to him because she’s scared is a lot less enjoyable than he would have imagined it to be. 

“Is she—” he hesitates, not wanting to voice the thought out loud. “Do I need to take her to the hospital, or something?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Callie says, her gaze soft as she studies Kiara. “I’ve seen this happen before, she just needs to sleep it off.”

“Okay,” JJ sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Uh... thanks, I guess. For looking after her.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” she tells him, giving him a small smile. “You were the first person on her speed dial, you know? Are you her boyfriend?”

”I’m her friend,” JJ says, and his voice may be a little too sharp given the nature of the question, but Kiara’s practically unconscious in his arms and he decides to give himself a break. 

The look Callie gives him is a little too knowing for his liking, like she can tell the kind of thoughts JJ has about his _friend_ at times.

But then she smiles at him, tilts her head and gestures towards Kiara. “You seem like a good friend, JJ. She’s lucky to have you.”

JJ doesn’t say what he’s really thinking, which is that if he was _really_ a good friend, he wouldn’t have let Kiara go to the party with Rafe in the first place. 

Instead, he just nods and returns Callie’s grim smile, climbs onto the bike and helps Kiara onto the back of it. She falls limp against him, wraps her arms around JJ’s waist and buries her face in his t-shirt. 

“You good to hold on?” He asks, turning his head to look at her. 

Kiara nods against him, as if she’s too exhausted to even talk, and she’s quiet as JJ starts the engine and pulls out of the driveway.

They don’t speak until they’re back at the Chateau, when JJ guides Kiara off of the bike and into the house, a hand on her back to keep her steady.

Her eyes are slightly less hazy now, but she’s still swaying on her feet, and JJ keeps an arm around her waist as they make their way to the pullout. Kiara’s looking around at the Chateau, her gaze almost wary, and he knows it must be weird for her to be here after everything that’s happened.

The lights are still on, but John B’s bedroom door is closed, and the couch where Pope had fallen asleep on was now empty. He must have gone home. 

JJ makes sure Kie is settled on the pullout before grabbing her a bottle of water and some Advil for her inevitable hangover. When he returns, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floorboards with a blank expression on her face.

“Kie?” He asks, pausing in the hallway, scanning her for any obvious signs of harm. “You okay?”

It’s a stupid question, because of course she’s not okay, but he wants her to say yes so badly that it just slips out. Even then, Kiara just blinks at him, as if she’s struggling to process reality. 

“Kie?” JJ tries again, trying to keep himself from panicking as he takes a step forward and crouches down in front of her. “Can you hear me?”

He places a hand on her knee, but Kiara automatically flinches away from him and curls in on herself. JJ raises his hands immediately, cursing himself for even trying to touch her, because he knows exactly what it’s like to feel entirely out of control of your own body.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, keeping his voice low and his movements slow as he sets the water on the side table. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, Kie. I would never hurt you, I swear.”

That seems to trigger some semblance of recognition in her, because Kiara lifts her head and looks at JJ with wide eyes, as if she had just noticed he was there in the room with her. “JJ?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he reassures her, still keeping a safe distance away. “You’re at the Chateau, you’re safe. I promise.”

His words are apparently exactly what Kiara needs to let go, because her shoulders immediately sag and she buries her head in her hands. She’s shaking again, and JJ thinks about letting her calm herself down on her own, but then she lets out a choked sob and he decides to screw it.

He reaches out and takes her hand, ready to move away at the slightest sign of discomfort on Kiara’s part, but the moment his fingers brush hers she lets out a low, trembling breath and falls into him. Their hands wind together, and he gives hers a firm squeeze, a silent _I’m here, I’ve got you._

JJ knows from experience that touch like this can be both grounding and painful, so he doesn’t expect Kiara to want him near her, but she inches closer and leans her head on his shoulder, the noises coming from her something between gasps and sobs.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he whispers, slowly moving a hand up to card through her hair. “You’re safe Kie, I promise. Just breathe, okay?”

Miraculously, his words actually seem to calm her down, and JJ starts rubbing circles on Kiara’s back as her breathing returns to normal. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs into his shoulder a few moments later, before JJ can tell her she doesn’t have to apologize. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Hey, no,” he says, a little harsher than he intends to, because the idea of Kiara apologizing for any of this makes JJ sick to his stomach. “Don’t do that. This isn’t your fault, Kie. None of it is.”

“Maybe it is,” she counters, and JJ has to bite his tongue to keep himself from screaming. “If I had just listened to you, none of this would have happened—”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” he tells her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. “I shouldn’t have been such an ass about it, I screwed up.”

“No, you didn’t,” she says, her voice firmer than he had expected it to be. “You came. Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” JJ whispers with a shake of his head, the guilt he’d felt earlier returning. “You were in trouble, Kie. I was always going to come.”

“Even after everything?” She asks, her voice faltering, as if she thought JJ would reject her all over again. “I abandoned all of you; I abandoned John B. Why would you forgive me?”

 _Because you’re you, and I couldn’t stay mad at you if I wanted to. Because I might be a tiny bit in love with you, even if I know that you don’t feel the same._

But JJ can’t say any of that, so he settles for pulling Kie into his side and resting his head on hers. “Don’t worry about it, okay? We’re all good now, I promise.”

“Okay,” Kiara sighs, her eyelids fluttering closed as she collapses into him. “Thanks again, JJ. For everything.”

JJ has no idea what he’s supposed to say to that, so he just helps Kie lie down on the pullout. She’s still in her party clothes, but he tugs off her boots and watches as she drinks the water and pops some Advil. 

After, when Kiara’s lying on the bed with her eyes closed, drifting in and out of sleep, JJ moves to leave, planning on crashing in the spare bedroom. But then she murmurs his name, tugs him back towards the pullout by his wrist, asks him to stay with her.

“Just for tonight, JJ. I— I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

And he knows it makes him a fool, but he obeys, because how is he supposed to say no to that? 

And it’s not like it means anything to Kiara, because she’s hurt and scared and JJ is just _there_ , but he can’t help but feel like he’s taking advantage of her when she lies her head on his chest and his brain short circuits.

It might be a problem in the future, he realizes. The fact that looking at Kiara makes him want to do a thousand different things to her, all of which break the _no Pogue on Pogue macking rule_ she herself had set. 

But JJ doesn’t want to think about that, and he needs a distraction, so he focuses on the person that’s been hovering in the back of his mind all night. “The next time I see him, I’m going to kill Rafe.”

And normally, Kiara would caution him against something like that, but she just laughs softly under her breath and says, “Okay, JJ. Whatever you want.”

She falls asleep not long after that, her breathing slow and steady against his chest as JJ works his fingers through her hair. 

And in that moment, he thinks that Callie got it wrong. Kiara’s not lucky to have him, he’s lucky to have her.

•••

After, JJ asks Kiara why he was still number one on her speed dial after all those months.

”Oh,” she says, and it might be his imagination, but he thinks she might be blushing. “You know, I just never got around to changing it. And John B never picks up his phone, so if I ever got in trouble, I just...”

She doesn’t finish the end of that sentence, and it’s kind of a cop-out answer anyway, but he lets it go.

Kiara’s back now, that’s all that matters.

Even if in that moment, despite his better judgment, JJ wonders if there’s more to it than she wants to admit. 

•••

JJ’s father is the kind of man who’s known for breaking promises. He’s broken almost every single one he’s ever made to his son, and JJ had always promised himself that he would never be like him— he’d keep his word. 

And he’d meant it when he’d told Kiara that the next time he saw Rafe, he’d kill him.

His chance to make good on his word comes a few weeks after that night, when JJ is refilling his drink at the keg during a party at the Boneyard.

Kiara had slipped back into the group with ease, almost as if she’d never left, and he could tell that they were all better off for it. John B was smiling for the first time in months, and Pope kept looking at Kie like she was the best damn thing he’d ever seen. Even Kiara seemed perfectly happy to be back slumming it with them, had started trashing the Kooks even harder than before. 

And as for JJ... he had no idea how to feel.

He’d tried to tell himself to not get too attached, because just because someone came back didn’t mean they were going to stay, but when Kiara wraps her arms around his shoulders on the HMS or presses her body against his in the hammock, it’s hard not to.

She’d asked him not to tell the other Pogues about what happened with Rafe, and JJ had kept his word with that too, but that didn’t change a thing about his own feelings.

The truth is, JJ couldn’t get that night out of his head— how Kiara had been lying on the ground, limp and defenseless, when he’d found her. The empty, glazed look in her eyes, how she’d flinched away when he went to touch her.

And Kiara’s fine now, for the most part at least. He keeps asking if she’s okay, if she wants to talk about it, but she just brushes it off and insists that she wants to forget her Kook Year altogether. And sure, it wasn’t like anything had actually _happened_ , but JJ can tell that it’s affecting Kie more than she’s letting on.

Like how she had hesitated before climbing out of the van tonight, eyed the crowded beach and sea of red solo cups with something like fear in her eyes. The other Pogues hadn’t noticed anything, but JJ had been paying attention.

He hadn’t said anything, of course, because he knew Kiara would bite his head off if he acted like she needed protecting, but he’d wrapped an arm around her shoulders and promised that the moment she said the word, they could leave.

Kiara has nodded her head, gave JJ a small, tight-lipped smile, and even though she didn’t say thank you he saw the unspoken gratitude in her eyes.

So, he had stayed by Kie’s side the entire night, filling her in on all the shit she’d missed, handing her a can of unopened Coke to pour into her cup herself, made excuses when John B and Pope asked why she wasn’t drinking. 

And he knew Kiara didn’t need him to fuss over her, that she could take care of herself, but she was more relaxed than she’d been in weeks and hadn’t told JJ to cut it out yet, and he wasn’t about to stop unless she asked him to. 

He’d even bitten his tongue and kept his fists to himself when some Kooks had called her a snitch, giggling behind their hands and giving Kiara dirty looks. Kie had just rolled her eyes and brushed it off, whispering for JJ to _leave it_ and giving his hands a pointed look until he’d unclenched his fists. 

And JJ’s never been one to shy away from a fight, but he knows the last thing Kiara needs is more shit to deal with, so he keeps his hands to himself.

But then he sees Rafe, and all bets are off.

It might’ve been fine if he’d just ignored JJ, gotten his drink and left without saying a word, but of course that’s not what happens. 

Instead, it’s Rafe with a knowing smirk on his face as he clamps a hand on JJ’s shoulder and squeezes hard, telling him to pour him a beer while he searches the crowd for a special girl of his. JJ doesn’t need to ask to know who he’s looking for.

So yes, it’s Rafe with that smug smile and cocky expression on his face as he opens his fucking mouth and has the nerve to ask JJ, “So, how’s Kie?”

“None of your _fucking_ business, Cameron,” JJ snarls, all attempts at keeping the peace forgotten. “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the hell away from her.”

“Is that so?” Rafe says, eyebrows raised, shooting one of his cronies an incredulous look. “What are you going to do if I don’t, Pogue? Trim the hedges crooked? Put too much salt in my Margarita?”

“I’m warning you, Rafe,” JJ growls, stepping closer until they’re chest to chest, his rage hot in his veins. “She’s done with you. Leave her alone.”

“What’s wrong, JJ?” Rafe asks, his voice tainted with false sympathy. “Scared your whore’s gonna find a new—”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish before JJ lunges forward, the cup of beer he’d been holding spilling onto the sand as he twists the fabric of Rafe’s shirt in his hands and tugs him closer until he’s practically spitting in his face. “If you so much as _touch_ her, Rafe, I swear to God—”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Maybank,” Rafe croons, seemingly unbothered by JJ’s proximity and the tension lining every part of his body. “I got what I wanted, but if it pisses you off so much, I might just have to try and fuck her myself—”

And just like that, the thin hold JJ had on himself slips, and his fist slams into Rafe’s face. They’re on the ground a moment later, and he’s straddling Rafe as he rains blow after blow down on him, oblivious to the hands tugging at his chest and the distant screams of the other partygoers. 

It takes Pope’s hands on his shoulders and his voice in JJ’s ear for him to stop, to return to a world that doesn’t revolve around the desire to rip Rafe Cameron limb from limb.

“If I ever hear her name in your mouth again, you’re dead,” he snarls over Rafe’s limp and groaning form, his voice sounding feral even to his own ears. “Got it, Rafe?” 

JJ’s not quite sure what happens next, just remembers Pope’s arm around his shoulders as he swore at JJ under his breath and demanded to know what had happened.

And normally, the rush he gets after a fight scares him a little because it reminds him of his father, but all JJ can feel is the satisfaction of seeing Rafe almost as vulnerable and defenseless as Kiara had been.

Her name is the first thing that really registers, and then he realizes that she’s probably going to find out what he did, and JJ doesn’t know why but the thought doesn’t sit well with him.

“Don’t tell Kie, okay?” 

“JJ—”

“I’m serious. Just... leave this one between us. She doesn’t need to know.”

So, Pope keeps his mouth shut, and JJ doesn’t discuss the fight with Kiara, even when she sees the bruises on Rafe’s face a week later and shoots him a pointed look, her gaze hard and eyes narrowed. JJ just shrugs when she asks him if he did it, says he’s glad the son of a bitch got what was coming to him, and that’s that.

They don’t talk about it, and JJ decides that it’s for the best. Because what Kiara can’t know won’t hurt her, and things are finally normal again. He can’t screw that up.

Even if the fight with Rafe isn’t the only thing he’s decided to keep a secret. 

•••

All in all, Midsummers is a disaster. 

Because sure, there’s Kie flinging herself into his arms by the end of it, colliding with JJ’s bruised chest in a way that should be painful but isn’t, smelling like fresh flowers and champagne, laughing into his neck and smiling as if JJ’s the best thing she’s seen all day. 

But before that Kelce has his arm around JJ’s neck and Rafe is about to land a metaphorical golf club through his skull, and there’s a brief but very real moment of panic where JJ realizes he has no idea how to get himself out of this one.

And then the security guard arrives, tipping the scales in JJ’s favor for once, and he smirks as he’s escorted from the room, tosses a final taunt to Rafe and his boys over his shoulder. 

He thinks it’s over, that he’s won, but then Rafe says the magic words.

“Tell Kiara she looks pretty hot for a Pogue.”

After that, all JJ sees is red. It doesn’t even matter _what_ Rafe said, because it involved Kiara, and he knows they both remember the threat he’d laid down after their fight at the Boneyard all those months ago. 

_If I ever hear her name in your mouth again, you’re dead._

He’d said it, and he’d meant it. And JJ doesn’t break promises— especially where Kiara is concerned. It’s too damn important.

 _She’s_ too important, and he’s not sure what it says about him, but Rafe says those nine damning words, the smirk on his face telling JJ that he already knows what’s about to happen, and then JJ snaps. 


End file.
